Scottish independence hopes sink as Darling asks 'what's plan B?'

The odds on Scotland voting for independence fell last night after Alex Salmond was adjudged to have lost the US-style live TV debate with Alistair Darling.

Following a series of terse exchanges, which saw former chancellor Darling accuse Salmond of basing his arguments on 'guesswork, fingers crossed and blind faith', a Guardian poll of more than 500 Scottish voters revealed 56% thought Scotland's first minister had lost the debate.

The pair, who are the leaders of the 'yes' and 'no' campaigns, clashed repeatedly with Salmond aiming jibes at Darling over the fact he was chancellor when the financial crisis was in full swing, overseeing the recession. Darling retorted, saying that 'any eight year old' could tell you a country's currency, asking 'what is plan B? That's using sterling like Panama or Ecuador use the dollar.'

Salmond said he was in favour of keeping sterling and repeatedly criticised the 'project fear' name of the 'better together' pro-union campaign.

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